A Few Unusual EBS Octabass Questions

[JanusZarate]

I couldn't find any threads on this, so I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask. And yes, I know there's soundclips on the EBS website, but they don't give me a very clear idea of what I'm asking about, since they play unreasonably fast for their demos (the legends of its tracking surely seem confirmed, though!)...

Everyone raves about the quality of the tone and tracking from this little guy. I'm assuming this is mainly a reference to the "Mid" mode of the current black label model, or the sound of the original gray model.

What about the "High" and "Low" modes? EBS advertises the "High" mode as being the most synth-like, and the "Low" mode as delivering very deep bass. How have your experiences been with this, using your own particular rigs and setups?

I'm wondering if the "High" mode really could be useful for a "synthesizer" kind of tone by itself or with a fuzz pedal. Plus, I'd love to hear of what people think of the "Low" mode. Yeah, I know I could probably just invest in an OC-2 if I want a less organic octave-down tone, but I am curious to see if the Octabass can sort of pull that off with one of its less organic modes.

Maybe someone could post a soundclip of the "High" mode in action, so I could get an idea of how sustained notes sound in that mode?

 

[OmBot]

I've used the High-mode quite a bit, and yes, it provides a rather cool, synth-like sound (sounds great when paired with a fuzz and the BassIQ )
The problem is with sustained notes, it makes a wobbly sound as the note rings out.

I've found the Low-mode to produce so much low end rumble that I've found it useless.

FYI, I mainly play active Spectors through Trace Elliot heads and 4x10 cabs.

 

[Phyrexian]

The problem is with sustained notes, it makes a wobbly sound as the note rings out.

I've found the Low-mode to produce so much low end rumble that I've found it useless.

+1 on this opinions. I found out the same when I had mine.
I own an OC-2 now. No stellar tracking or anything (the EBS is far from perfect either) but is somewhat filthier sounding and I like that!

 

[Liten]

Without having tried the POG... I have to say that the EHX Octave Multiplexer is the best Octaver ive ever tried..
(Have tried both of the ones you mention..)

Its quite cheap to.. Only 2 downsides:
BIG.. and its a "one note samba".. = doesent handle more than one note @ 1 time.. (unlike the POG)

 

[sandmann]

to be honest: i can hear almost no difference when i play alone. in the band none at all.

i must say that i am a little disappointed of the ebs octave pedal.

sandmann

 

[Colonel Monk]

I really only use mine in the high mode. Medium doesn't stand out like high and Low I think would really only work when you're playing higher notes!

Think of it this way, you can play low in high mode or high in low mode, my guess is it would sound the same. But YOU might look cooler playing high?

If you can't hear a difference when you turn it on, batteries are dead or you're not driving the input hard enough. There seems to be a certain threshold the signal has to cross for the effect to work.

Sounds great for intermittent riffing where you want to add some colour.

out

 

[RJ]

to be honest: i can hear almost no difference when i play alone. in the band none at all.

i must say that i am a little disappointed of the ebs octave pedal.

sandmann

I have to agree. I only tried the older, gray version but tracking was very poor. A BSW preforms much better, sadly.